My Perfect Match: Edward's Story
by HappyMess
Summary: Edward Cullen never considered online dating. He was just experiencing a dry spell. But after a meddling brother interferes, he finds more than he ever expected. AH. Olderward. Companion piece to My Perfect Match.
1. Chapter 1

Surprise? I've had this laying around for about a year now. It was published in a fandom charity comp. I figured it was about time I posted it!

* * *

"Fuck, Bro. We need to get you some pussy."

I looked up from my laptop to my younger brother, Emmett. He was sitting beside me on the couch, flipping through the channels.

"Huh?"

"Laid, my man. We need to get you laid." He put the remote down on the coffee table after settling on SportsCenter.

"What is this 'we?'" I asked. "I don't need your help getting sex."

"Right. And when was the last time you actually got any?" he scoffed.

"Heidi," I replied.

"Shit. That was like, what...a year ago?" he asked. "She was the chick from Riley's, right?

I nodded. Heidi worked as a waitress at our favorite pub. After one too many pints, I had gone back to her place when her shift ended. It was fun, but just a one time thing.

"Hey, let me see your palms," Emmett demanded, breaking me out of my memory.

"What? Why?"

"Cause they must be hairy as fuck!" he said, then burst out laughing.

I rolled my eyes at my brother. Thirty-five years old and as immature as ever.

"I don't want to just get laid, Emmett." The words were out of my mouth before I realized what I said.

"No shit? You're looking to settle down again?"

"Yeah, I think so." Tanya had taken up years of my life. Almost all of my twenties and half of my thirties.

The past five years had been spent going on a date here and there. Nothing serious or close to it.

But now I was nearing forty.

I wanted...more.

I looked over at Emmett who was deep in thought, which was never a good sign.

"Give me your laptop," he said. He didn't wait for me though, instead just grabbing it.

"One of my buddies from work has been going out on tons of dates recently. He joined some dating site—"

"Hold up," I interrupted. "A dating site? No thank you."

I didn't want to join a dating site. Who knew what kind of women I'd meet that way?

Emmett ignored me, still typing away.

I got up and went to the kitchen, grabbing a beer and letting in my two Irish Wolfhounds, Chester and Lulu, who had been playing in the backyard.

I went back to the living room and sat back down.

"Here, all done." Emmett handed me back my laptop.

"What did you do?" I asked, eyeing him warily.

"I signed you up for Match Finder. It's the dating service my friend uses.

"Wait, you spent sixty dollars on this? I asked.

"No biggie. You can just pay me back by having an open bar at your wedding reception."

I rolled my eyes at him. "You're wasting your time."

"Uhh...no. I'm not. Cause if you don't fill it out, I will. I have your password." He stood up and checked his watch. "I gotta get going. Gotta go back home to the missus. I have explicit orders from Cait to be home by bedtime.

I walked him to the door. "Bye, Em. Say hi to Cait for me."

"I will. You better fill that out, Edward. I'm gonna check up on it. After Tanya, I guess things have been kinda crazy for you. But you do deserve to find your Rosie."

"No thanks. I definitely don't need to find a woman like Rosalie." I cringed. I loved Rose, but we found ourselves butting heads more often than not.

"Shut up. You know what I mean. Stop trying to ruin my serious moment," he joked.

"I know. And thanks, really. Maybe I can give it a shot."

"Awesome. Besides, Rosalie is too much woman for you to handle. Who knows? Maybe you'll even find someone to put up with your old man self."

Right. Well, there went Emmett's fleeting moment of maturity.

0-0

Over the next few days I found myself thinking about filling my profile out, but never actually getting around to doing it.

It wasn't until after I received a threatening text message from my brother that I did so.

The next day I checked my email to find that my inbox was filled with new emails alerting me to new messages.

Out of curiosity, I began to read through them.

The idea that a website could determine the percentage match that I was compatible with someone was absurd to me.

But, as I read through their messages and profiles I found that some of the women actually did seem intriguing.

But there was always something that held me back from replying to them.

I shut my laptop, rubbing my eyes. What was I even doing?

It wasn't under the following Friday night that I received a message that changed everything.

Every day I had received at least one message, but I had stopped bothering to look at their profile.

I opened up my new message from BSwan91, immediately noticing her handle. I assumed, like in mine, the digits were her year of birth.

I did the math and figured out she was twenty-one. By far the youngest I had been matched with.

She was also the highest percentage match I had received.

Ninety-four percent.

Intrigued, I read her message.

_Hi Cullen72,_

_I just came across your profile and wanted to say hi. My name is Bella. I'm a college student and finishing up my third year at UW. I'm studying English. I also work part time. Well, that's pretty much the basics._

_Looking at your profile I noticed that you didn't fill out any of the physical traits you were looking for in a woman. I guess I was interested in what they were._

_Hope to hear back from you,_

_Bella_

I smiled to myself and clicked on her profile picture. She was beautiful. Long, brown hair and rich brown eyes. Her lips looked soft and pouty.

Tearing myself away from her picture, I read through her interests, surprised to find that even with a couple of decades between us, we still shared similar interests.

I went back to her message again and decided to write back.

Drumming my fingers against the table, I thought about what to say.

I figured I'd just be precise and to the point.

I told her that she was beautiful, but that physical attributes weren't everything to me, which was true. I'd had my fair share of women who were all looks but no substance when I was younger.

After pressing send, I went to the kitchen to grab a beer and feed the dogs.

When I came back, I saw that I had a new message from Bella.

Reading through her message, I wanted to laugh. Average? She saw herself as being average? Sure, brown hair and eyes weren't uncommon, but there was just something about her.

I quickly composed a new message.

_Bella,_

_I have to disagree with you when you say you rate yourself as average. From your one picture alone, I would say you were far above average._

_As for my preference in reading material, I'm pretty much open to anything, but I have to include Clancy and Vonnegut amongst my favorite authors. What about you? What do you enjoy reading?_

_-Edward_

I hit send and tried to busy myself catching up on the news online, but I was eagerly waiting to see if Bella would respond tonight.

It was quite late, but she did refer to herself as a night owl.

A few minutes later though, I refreshed the page to see that she had once again replied.

This continued on until the early hours of the morning. When I could barely keep my eyes open any longer, I begrudgingly sent her a message telling her I had to go to bed.

On impulse, I decided to ask her out.

I didn't think I would meet someone so fast that I clicked with so well. I wanted to see if our chemistry could transfer into real life, when we met face to face.

After sending the last message, I went through the house, making sure everything was locked up for the night, then got myself ready for bed.

When I came back to my computer, there were no new messages.

I sighed and decided to call it a night and go to bed.

It was late, Bella had probably fallen asleep.

Tomorrow, she would reply.

* * *

Are people interested in seeing this as a full length fic? That was my original intention. Let me know in a review!


	2. Chapter 2

When I hadn't heard from Bella by the early afternoon, I started to doubt that she would reply back.

I decided to send her one last message.

Maybe I had acted too quickly last night?

It didn't feel like it, though. Why not suggest that we meet in person? Wasn't that the whole purpose of the website?

In the message I sent her, I suggested that we could try another method of communication first,

perhaps Skype or phone calls. I included my phone number in the message for her, just in case.

Needing to take my mind off of everything, I loaded the dogs into the car and drove up to my parents house.

Sundays were usually family days. Emmett and Rose would spend the day there with Caitlin. My parents property was pretty big and included a play structure for Caitlin and a fenced in area for the dogs to run.

I turned the radio up loud in the car as I drove, trying to drown out my thoughts.

As expected, when I pulled into my parents driveway, Emmett's Jeep was already parked there.

"Mom? Dad?" I called into the house after unlocking the front door. I kept Lulu and Chester on their leashes. The last time I had let them run in ahead of me hadn't ended well.

Hearing voices, I followed them to find that Rose, Caitlin and my mother were sitting around the kitchen table, having a snack.

"Edward!" My Mom greeted, jumping off her stool and coming around to greet me. "What a pleasant surprise!"

"Hi, Mom. Just thought I'd join the party," I said, giving her a quick hug.

"Hello, Rose," I said, looking to my sister in law. I then turned to Caitlin.

"Hi, Kit Kat!" I greeted enthusiastically.

She giggled. "Uncle Eddie! I'm not a Kit Kat!"

"Really?" I asked, feigning shock.

"Yeah! I'm Caitlin!"

"Well, I think you're a Kit Kat cause you're so cute I could just gobble you up!" I reached out and began to tickle her, causing her to squeal.

"Eddie, stop! I'm gonna pee!"

I quickly retracted my hands and backed up.

"Geez. Thanks, Edward," Rose said sarcastically. But I could still hear the smile behind her

words.

I smiled back at her teasingly and then looked down at Lulu and Chester, who looked entirely bored. I excused myself and led them out the back kitchen door to the fenced in, grassy area.

When I came back inside, Rose and Caitlin were gone, presumably in the bathroom.

"Where's Dad and Emmett?" I asked, popping a handful of Goldfish crackers into my mouth that Caitlin had left behind.

"They're upstairs. I believe imbibing and possibly smoking cigars," she said with a roll of her eyes.

"Okay, I think I'll go see what they're up to."

I headed upstairs to Dad's "Man Room," as he liked to call it.

"Edward," my dad greeted me. "We were actually just talking about you."

"Oh, really?" That was never a good sign. My dad and brother could gossip like old ladies.

"Yeah, just about how you were so desperate, I had to sign you up for a dating website," Emmett goaded.

"Fuck you," I shot back. I walked further into the room and sat on one of the arm chairs across from my dad and brother.

"Anyway," Dad continued. "Have you met anyone yet? Gone on any dates?"

My mind briefly went to Bella, but just as quickly I pushed that thought away. There was no guarantee I would hear from her again. Even then, it was way too soon to mention her. I knew that if I mentioned anything to either of them, Mom wouldn't be out of the loop for long.

"Nah," I shook my head. "Not yet."

"Man, I thought for sure they'd be lined up by now," Emmett said, shaking his head.

"Just because I haven't been on any dates doesn't mean that I haven't gotten any matches or messages," I defended. I wasn't a complete loser, unlike what my brother seemed to believe.

"Emmett, leave your brother alone. I swear, sometimes you two act like you're still kids."

We continued talking until Caitlin came running into the room, telling us that my mother demanded we come down to help cook.

0-0

Later in the afternoon, I was out running with the dogs.

I could hear my phone ringing in my pocket, so I stopped our run to answer it.

Glancing at the display, I didn't recognize the number.

"Hello?" I said trying to catch my breath.

"Hi. Is this Edward?" A shy, timid voice asked.

"Speaking," I replied, still unable to figure out who was calling.

"Hi. This is Bella...BSwan91. I just saw your messages." She still sounded unsure.

Holy shit.

Bella was calling me.

"Bella, wow. I thought for sure I scared you off." I tried to make it sound joking, but really. I had thought she had been scared off.

"No, no you didn't." She laughed. "Are you busy? I can call you back."

I looked down at the dogs who were laying at my feet.

"Not at all. I was just finishing up my run. How are you today?" I asked.

"I'm good. Great," she answered. "How are you?"

"Good," I replied lamely. I had no idea why I held all the awkwardness of a first crush.

"That's good."

She didn't say anything more. I was at a loss for what to say.

"This is ridiculous. We had so much to talk about last night," I said, laughing.

"I know! I think I'm just nervous," she admitted.

I smiled. "Would it help to admit that I am a little nervous as well?" I prompted. "I've never done

anything like this before. It was actually my brother that made my account. i would have to say that I'm now glad he did."

"Oh," she replied.

I mentally slapped myself. Was I being too forward again? "Sorry. I'm making you uncomfortable."

"No, you're not," she insisted. "I'm just...not used to compliments, I guess. I didn't make my account either. My best friend slash cousin, Alice, convinced me to last night."

I laughed. I knew all too well what it was like to have an interfering family.

"Well, I'd say we both have meddling people in our lives, then."

"Hah, meddling is putting it nicely," she replied with a dry laugh.

After that, the conversation flowed more freely, but we still have anything deeper than polite conversation.

I realized, with a sigh that I'd been gone for a while. The dogs were still sacked out at my feet, but

I needed to get back to my parents and shower, then do some work.

"I really should be getting started on this article I have to write." I didn't want to end our conversation yet.

"Okay. I should probably clean up around here as well."

"Would it be okay if I call you later?" I asked.

"Yeah." I could hear the smile in her voice. "That would be okay."

"Great. Well," I said, relieved that she wanted to hear from me again. "I hope you have a good day, Bella."

"You too, Edward," she replied before hanging up.

0-0

The rest of the day was spent at my parents.

After we ate dinner, Rosalie announced that they had to get Caitlin home and ready for bed.

"Are you sure you don't want to go out after Caitlin goes to bed?" Emmett asked. He had tried a new tactic. Wanting me to go out with him to a bar and help me meet women. He was convinced he would make an excellent wingman, to Rosalie's disapproval.

Waving him off with an excuse, I followed them to the front door.

"Oh, I forgot to ask earlier," Rosalie said. "Do you think you could get Cait to preschool on Wednesday?"

"Yeah, no problem," I replied dismissively.

"Okay, good. I have a doctors appointment."

Emmett came into the hallway, carrying Caitlin.

"Hey. Go home and talk to some of those ladies, okay?" Emmett said, clapping me on the back.

"Yeah, yeah," I replied with a roll of my eyes.

I kissed a drowsy Caitlin goodnight before going to get my dogs ready to head out.

After promising to visit and call my mother more often, we were back in the car, heading home.

When I got home, I continued to work, lost in the article that I was writing and trying to quickly finish it. up.

Around 8:30 I had finished. After one final readthrough to make sure I was satisfied with it, I emailed it off to be approved.

I realized that I still needed to call back Bella.

Glancing at the clock, I decided to call her before it got too late.

"Hey," I greeted when she answered the phone.

"Edward. Hi," she replied.

"Sorry, am I calling too late?"

"Nope, not at all," she answered. stifling a yawn. "I was just reading."

"Oh? What were you reading?" I asked, my interest piqued.

"Just a magazine," she said quickly. "How was your day?"

I told her that I had spent it at my parents and gotten my article done. When I asked her about hers, she told me she spent the first part of the day with her cousin, then the rest relaxing around her house.

"It's good to have relaxing days," I told her. "I could do with a few of those. I spent the afternoon trying to convince my brother that I was too busy to go out for drinks."

"You have siblings?" she asked.

"Just a brother. He's thirty-five. Married for five years to Rosalie. They have a three year old daughter, Caitlin."

"The way you said Rosalie leads me to believe that you two aren't exactly close," Bella said.

I had to laugh. "No. I mean, I've known her for a long time. Her and Em are great together. We just have a...love-hate relationship."

"I think I can relate to that. I love Alice, she's my best friend. But sometimes she's just too much."

Yeah, I could definitely commiserate.

We continued to talk for a little while. Or at least, it felt like a little while. When I glanced at the clock I saw that two hours had passed.

"Is it seriously 11 already?" I yawned. It had been a long day.

"Yeah. Wow. Time flies," she said, sounding just as surprised as I was.

"Bella, I know that you have your reservations, but I'd really like to meet with you. In person. It doesn't have to be anything serious or a date, we could just meet up for coffee and talk. Just like we're doing now, except face to face."

I hadn't really meant to push the matter. But then again, maybe all she needed was a little push?

Bella was quiet, which I hoped meant that she was considering it.

"Okay," she replied hesitantly. "We can do coffee."

"Great!" I said, unable to contain the relief I felt. "When is good for you?"

We compared schedules. I had deadlines I needed to meet and Bella had school and homework to attend to. Finally, we were able to agree on Wednesday at 8. Just a few days away.

After we hung up, I let the dogs out into the yard once more before heading to bed.

Wednesday couldn't come soon enough.

* * *

Hi. I hope you like this chapter. Thank you for all your lovely reviews!

I'm thinking of changing the title of this story, but I'm not sure to what. I'm horrible at coming up with titles, hence the oh so creative title for this story.

Also, if anyone wants to make a cover photo for this fic, that would be awesome! It feels naked without one.

See you next time.


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